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ipad Air sleeve

I purchased the Small Cafe bag recently. My first Tom Bihn order. I am looking for a sleeve to fit my ipad Air w/ smart case into. Something that I can slip into the Cafe bag but won't take up too much extra space. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't need it to zip or even close. It's really just so I can create an extra "pocket" inside the cafe bag to keep the ipad air separated.

If pammcl had a Smart Cover rather than the Smart Case, then the iPad Air Cache could accommodate the device just fine. However, a Smart Case adds a bit more bulk, so the iPad Air Cache would *probably* be overly snug. To account for this extra bulk, the regular iPad Cache might work better.

The only issue is that even though the iPad Cache does fit in the Small Cafe Bag, it doesn't fit remarkably well (which is why it isn't listed as an add-on option on the product page). Width-wise, it's fine, but a portion of the Cache will poke out just above the bag's opening. While the part of the Cache sticking out won't protrude so much as to prevent the closure and fastening of the bag's flap, the Cache still takes up a good chunk of space inside the bag.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I do have the smart case, not the cover. Are there any other manufacturer's items that might work. Rucksack seems the best I've found so far, but I'm afraid it might be too bulky.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I do have the smart case, not the cover. Are there any other manufacturer's items that might work. Rucksack seems the best I've found so far, but I'm afraid it might be too bulky.

You could alternatively use the Cache in the Medium Cafe Bag or you could try the Ristretto for iPad. I'm not sure how tight the fit would be with a Smart Case on, since it's designed for inserting the iPad directly. I usually use the Little Swift these days, and just carry the iPad in a Cache in the Little Swift, which I like to use for a lot of other reasons.

However, the bag that I used to use as a dedicated iPad bag, that could be carried separately or slipped into another luggage bag, is the discontinued Breve. Here's a video link to a review that Maverick did when this was first introduced (and the available colors were Black, Steel, or Kiwi Ballistic Nylon). They later offered this bag in Navy, Cardinal, and Forest, and finally Cork. I have this in Cardinal (a red shade).

The Ruck's Sack is really large for this, and is also discontinued. Some people like to use the Co-Pilot to carry the iPad in a Cache, although that's also somewhat larger than you outline.

Originally Posted by pammcl

Would the regular ipad Cache by chance fit into the back open pocket of the Small Cafe Bag? I'm thinking for my needs that might be a good way to carry it just for flights.

If you want to carry the iPad in a Cache, use the main compartment of the Small Cafe Bag instead of the back open pocket. It will fit better, although the top of the cached will stick up slightly, as Beau described.

The description "link to a review" doesn't show up in Tapatalk, but at least the video itself shows up, and is playable both under Tapatalk, the iPad, Computer browsers and in the iPhone web browser. Most of the time, one of these link formats just disappears, and then some group of people can't find the video at all. I'm sure there's a good convention to use that works everywhere, but for many past posts I'll just find some format under which the video can't be viewed at all.

However, the bag that I used to use as a dedicated iPad bag, that could be carried separately or slipped into another luggage bag, is the discontinued Breve. Here's a video link to a review that Maverick did when this was first introduced (and the available colors were Black, Steel, or Kiwi Ballistic Nylon). They later offered this bag in Navy, Cardinal, and Forest, and finally Cork.

OMG!!! The Breve...and in CORK! Why, oh why, did I not "discover" Tom Bihn bags two years earlier? Is there a "TB Hall of Fame" where the fan-favorite, retired bags go so those of us who are latecomers can gawk in wonder and fantasize about what might have been?

"Inside everyone is a great shout of joy waiting to be born."
-- David Whyte

I am a commercial photographer and I carry-on a rolling Think Tank bag as well as a camera Lowepro backpack, both loaded with gear - 7 lenses, 2 camera bodies, 2 laptops, 3 external drives and more. So my carry-on space is already used up. My Lowepro has a compartment on top for personal items, so I bought the Small Cafe Bag (only one small enough to fit) and plan on packing that will all the essentials I need during a flight. And then the cafe bag will get crammed into the Lowepro backpack. The goal was to get on the plane, grab one item with what I need packed inside, and then place the backpack in the overhead. I really wanted the Ristretto, but it was too large. The Small Cafe is a bit small and I can't fit everything I wanted inside, but nothing larger would fit into my backpack. And the backpack is already bigger at 42" than the airline's regulated 36" personal item size. Not sure what other options since I'm already at the two item carry-on limit.

Would the regular ipad Cache by chance fit into the back open pocket of the Small Cafe Bag? I'm thinking for my needs that might be a good way to carry it just for flights.

As I mentioned earlier, carrying an iPad Air (or iPad) in a Cache in the main compartment of the Small Cafe Bag should work just fine. The top of the Cache sits very minimally above the top of the compartment sides. No problems closing the bag, either.

Originally Posted by taminca

OMG!!! The Breve...and in CORK! Why, oh why, did I not "discover" Tom Bihn bags two years earlier? Is there a "TB Hall of Fame" where the fan-favorite, retired bags go so those of us who are latecomers can gawk in wonder and fantasize about what might have been?

@taminca check the Blog page and type in "Breve" to run a search. You'll see the post announcing the Breve in Cork with a picture. As for finding out about older bags, this has been proposed in the Museum of Bihn thread, and pictures a few of the older bags may be found in Maverick's Tom Bihn museum thread. If you want to see another early Cork bag, the Archetype, follow links in the Three Reviews of the Archetype thread. On the Bleeding Edge Video review link at the end, selecting the download link for the iPod formatted version should let you play the review. Quality is not great, but it does show the bag, and it also has some comments by Tom about how he first found and started to work with the Cork material. I can't link directly to the original Blog page post about the Archetype and its videos about how Cork is harvested, because the redesign to the new forum format didn't carry over pages before 2011.